Volkswagen Group China and its local joint ventures sold 4.23m vehicles in mainland China and Hong Kong in 2019, a 0.6% increase on the previous year, the company announced.

This was a significant outperformance compared with the 8.2% decline in the overall Chinese market last year to 25.77m units.

Volkswagen remained the leading car brand in the country with sales rising by 1.7% to 3,163,200 units, including the Jetta sub-brand, while Audi sales – including imports – rose by 4.2% to a record 688,888 units in 2019 and Porsche sales increased by 8% to 86,752 units.

The company said it enjoyed strong demand for its SUVs in China, with sales rising to 812,500 units across all its brands – helped by the recent launch of new models such as the T-Cross, T-Roc and the Teramont X.

Volkswagen Group China CEO Stephan Wollenstein said the company planned to invest EUR4bn in the country this year to continue its strong new product offensive.

Around 40% of this will be invested in e-mobility, or electric vehicles (EVs).

The company is targeting 300,000 EV sales in China this year.

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